In a crackerjack first novel written with the verve of Margaret Mahy at her most sportive, Ivy Greene finds herself inexplicably abandoned by her normally conscientious parents. While searching for them she encounters numerous weird characters such as the vile Borage Clott, who runs the Wretched Dear Darlings' Blessed Haven Orphanage (the ``gray and lumpish'' Borage smells of toads and moldy cheese, possibly because he gnaws on his own bare feet). Ivy has never been a stranger to odd people. Her aunt Zilpa, who helps figure out what's become of her parents, is a taxidermist who believes that ice cream is a complete and perfect food and keeps a 300-pound ostrich that makes a fetish of putting round things in holes (a result of being yanked unhatched from his nest). It turns out that Ivy's folks had their common sense sucked out while standing in their own back yard on a night of total darkness—they're literally dumbstruck. Fortunately, Ivy and Zilpa are able to restore their intelligence. Highly original fun spiced with hilarious descriptions of the daft goings-on; a great readaloud. With suitably zany illustrations. (Fiction. 8+)

More by Sara Pennypacker

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  LEEVA AT LAST

  by Sara Pennypacker ; illustrated by Matthew Cordell

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  PAX, JOURNEY HOME

  by Sara Pennypacker ; illustrated by Jon Klassen

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  HERE IN THE REAL WORLD

  by Sara Pennypacker

In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.

Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia ismea flosculus(“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.

Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán. 

When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and hishermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanishejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves twoculturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless ofla lengua nativa—the mother tongue.

More In The Series

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  HOW TÍA LOLA ENDED UP STARTING OVER

  by Julia Alvarez

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  HOW TÍA LOLA SAVED THE SUMMER

  by Julia Alvarez

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  HOW TÍA LOLA LEARNED TO TEACH

  by Julia Alvarez

More by Julia Alvarez

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  ALREADY A BUTTERFLY

  by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

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  WHERE DO THEY GO?

  by Julia Alvarez ; illustrated by Sabra Field

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  HOW TÍA LOLA ENDED UP STARTING OVER

  by Julia Alvarez